Drawing-and-Talking

The importance of mental health care has dominated headlines throughout the year, amidst a myriad of industry reports and nationwide concerns over awareness and treatment of mental health issues– particularly when it comes to children.

It has been suggested that a child’s first meaningful involvement with mental health often doesn’t take place until their condition has reached crisis point.

One in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health problem (according to a recent report by think tank, Centreforum*). Which is the equivalent of three in every classroom and around 720,000 children across the country. By interviewing at an earlier stage, serious mental health conditions can be addressed and potentially avoided.

One of the organisations flying the flag for early intervention is Drawing and Talking… which provides low-cost, one-day courses to adults (predominately teachers, TAs and learning mentors), training them in a short-term intervention therapy method for use with children who are on the waiting list for CAMHS or other external agencies.

The method is designed to be used with children who have suffered trauma – perhaps bereavement or abuse – which is effecting their behaviour and in turn, their ability to learn. To date, Drawing and Talking has trained over 7,000 professionals and its method is being implemented in around 5,000 UK schools.

For more information on Drawing and Talking, visit drawingandtalking.com.

The Big Draw Festival starts on 1st October, kick starting the world’s biggest celebration of drawing. Running until the end of the month, The Big Draw aims to get everyone drawing; a tool that is championed for learning, expression and invention and more importantly its ability changes lives – as demonstrated by our client, Drawing and Talking.

Drawing and Talking host training courses across the country teaching a safe early-intervention therapy method to use with children who have experienced trauma. Designed for teaching assistants (TAs), learning mentors, SENCOs, teachers or anyone who works with children, the one-day training course enables an empathetic adult to facilitate weekly sessions to individual pupils, during which they draw and talk. Typically, children who are referred for the 12-week programme will have experienced bereavement, bullying, their parent’s divorce, abuse or even unsettling things like moving house and starting a new school.

To date over 10,000 people have trained in Drawing and Talking, helping a total of 130,000 children across the UK.

To celebrate – and in line with The Big Draw’s campaign – Drawing and Talking is asking you share your #DrawingChangesLives story for a chance to win art supplies for your school, charity or organisation.

All you need to do is…

Like or follow Drawing and Talking on Facebook or Twitter and share a photo! Post your doodles, drawings or even inspirational quotes about drawing

Most importantly, you must tag Drawing and Talking in your post AND use the hashtag #DrawingChangesLives. You can find them using the social media handles below…

Against a backdrop of concerns regarding the state of our mental health sector – including a serious lack of funding and huge waiting times for access to services – Dr Allan (PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada) will join a host of industry professionals from the children’s education and healthcare sectors, at Drawing and Talking’s (D&T) annual conference in London on 9th June.

Established in 2004 by Maria Beagley, and her daughter, Catherine, D&T hosts training days across the UK throughout the year, which teach an innovative and informed therapeutic method, equipping adults with tools they need to help children who have suffered trauma or who have underlying emotional problems that may be affecting their learning and behaviour; particularly those on the waiting list for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) or other outside agencies as well as children who are showing signs of anxious-avoidant insecure attachment.

To date D&T has trained over 7,000 professionals and its technique is being implemented in over 5,000 schools across the UK.

The industry professionals – which include D&T’s training participants, teachers, teaching assistants (TAs) and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) – will come together on 9th June at the Imperial Hotel, Russel Square, to discuss the positive effects of D&T’s innovative therapy technique and present evidence of its effectiveness as an early intervention method for children suffering with emotional difficulties.

D&T’s roots stem from Dr John Allan’s Serial Drawing Technique, which was used to train students at the University of British Columbia in their first year of undergraduate study. Maria, a former SENCO, was introduced to the non-intrusive therapy by British Child Psychotherapist, Michael Green, who then co-wrote the training programme with Maria, developing Dr Allan’s technique for UK professionals.

Dr Allan comments: “I developed Drawing and Talking in the mid-1960s, to help children who are struggling in school or with life. It’s a simple method, which encourages each side of a child’s brain to work together to process difficult or painful memories by combining drawing, a right-brained activity, and talking, a left-brained activity. Over time, drawings tend to move through stages of chaos and struggle to reparation and healing as the child becomes more able to process and manage their pain. This often leads to more positive behaviour and engagement with day-to-day learning processes.”

Maria adds: “The annual conference is a rare chance for our participants to come together in the presence of Dr Allan, to discuss the results they have had using the Drawing and Talking technique, exchange findings and ask for advice to further advance their skills.”

One in ten children aged between five and 16 years old have a diagnosable mental health problem – according to a recent Task Force Report [1] commissioned by NHS England. For the thousands of teachers, learning mentors, nurses and counsellors, who help and nurture children daily, this startling statistic highlights the need for government investment and a fresh, new approach.

Drawing and Talking – a family-run business – offers pioneering training courses to adults who work with children of all ages. To date, the company has trained over 7,000 professionals and its technique is being implemented in over 5,000 schools across the UK.

This March the company will be joining a host of inspiring educational suppliers at the annual Education Show to demonstrate its low-cost yet effective solution for adults looking to help children affected by mental health issues. One of the most popular events in the Education sector’s calendar, the Education Show takes place at the NEC, Birmingham from 17-19 March and is free to attend (register online at education-show.com).

Drawing and Talking was established in 2004 by Maria Beagley, a former SENCO, and her daughter, Catherine. The company hosts training days across the UK, throughout the year, which teach an innovative and informed therapy method, equipping adults with tools they need to help children who have suffered trauma or who have underlying emotional difficulties that may be affecting their learning and behaviour.

Its roots stem from Dr John Allan’s Serial Drawing technique [2], which was used to train students at the University of British Columbia in their 1st years of undergraduate degree. Maria was introduced to the non-intrusive therapy by British Child Psychotherapist, Michael Green, who then co-wrote the training program with Maria, developing Dr Allan’s technique for UK professionals.

Maria comments: “The method we use encourages each side of a child’s brain to work together to process difficult or painful memories by combining drawing, a right-brained activity, and talking, a left-brained activity. Over time, the child becomes more able to process and manage their pain which will often lead to more positive behaviour and engagement with the national curriculum and other day-to-day learning processes.”

Catherine, who will be at the Education Show to showcase the Drawing and Talking technique and provide information on the courses, adds: “It is vital that children who suffer emotional trauma have access to the care and attention they need in order to secure their future in education and in health.

“Typically, children might have experienced bereavement of a grandparent, parent or sibling, bullying, their parent’s divorce, abuse or even unsettling things like moving house and starting a new school. We are really excited to be attending this year’s Education Show to explain what we do to the people that are best placed to affect a child’s future.

“This year, we will be running a competition to win a free INSET/Cluster training day for up to 30 people and also releasing our Autumn course dates – those attending will have the first opportunity to book a course, right up until Christmas.”

Find Drawing and Talking at stand A70-B71 (opposite the sticker stand) at the Education Show, Birmingham, NEC from 17-19 March 2016. The event is free to attend, register online at www.education-show.com.

For more information on its training and available course dates, call 020 8715 0745 or visit drawingandtalking.com.